One woman, one faith, a changing world

A short film based on Letter 29 by Paolino da Nola, filmed in the early Christian Basilica at Cimitile

The Context

Cimitile is not merely the setting for the film; it is the very substance of it. Here, in the 4th century, a Roman world accustomed to the worship of the body and physical form converted to a faith that overturned those values: the cross, a sign of disgrace, became a sign of salvation. The stones of this complex still bear the marks of that momentous transition — and it is in this space, amongst ruins that are both archaeological finds and a stage, that Paolino’s letters find their voice once more.

History

Paolino narrates, Melania replies. Two voices, a dialogue across a distance, even though they do not meet on stage. The life of a Roman noblewoman who chose poverty and faith, her reasons for doing so, and the example recounted by Paolino of Nola. Adapted from the original 4th-century texts, the play surprises with the modernity of the example and the power of her motivations.

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“What sort of woman,

if she can really be called a woman

such a tenacious, manly Christian”

“...as well as the loss of some of my children, whom I mourned whilst my husband was still alive... within the space of a year I lost two children and my husband himself.”

“…purple, silk and gold capes, serving as old, black rags.”

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A combined cast of narrators, scholars and theatre and film professionals brought to the stage two of the theatre’s finest actors, enabling them to perform a text that, whilst not an easy one, is of fundamental importance to the history of Christianity

Massimo Foschi

Paolino da Nola

Marcella Vitiello

Melania

Per approfondire

You can download the film’s synopsis and the director’s notes for further insight into what has been described so far. The film “Melania” forms part of the eBook project Santuario Martoriale di San Felice, produced in collaboration with Prof. Mario Cesarano, which is dedicated to the origins of the sanctuary at Cimitile, the teachings of Paolino and the archaeological discovery of the complex.

Synopsis Director’s notes